Teachers call for vigilant to ensure clean elections

CEBU, Philippines — Cebuano teachers, under the Department of Education Teachers’ Union, have joined others in urging fellow teachers, election workers, and the public to remain vigilant and ensure clean and efficient elections ahead of the 2025 midterm polls.

This follows the recent issue involving Smartmatic, the former poll technology provider.

The Department of Education Teachers’ Union (DTU), a long-time advocate for the rights and welfare of public school teachers, emphasizes the importance of teachers, who also serve as election workers, to remain impartial and uphold democratic principles.

To achieve this, DTU stresses the need for technology that is “trustworthy and accountable,” as expressed in a press conference in Manila yesterday.

Past experiences with Smartmatic’s VCMs have raised significant concerns, particularly during the 2022 elections, where over 1,800 machines reportedly malfunctioned, affecting approximately 1.1 million voters.

These issues not only caused delays but also undermined public confidence in the electoral process, DTU emphasized.

DTU Visayas president Remus Marinas, a master teacher II from Apas National High School, told The Freeman that they want to “uphold the rule of law.”

In Cebu alone, there are two thousand members of the teachers’ union, all from public schools.

“Ang amo, uphold the rule of law, naa namay ruling ang Supreme Court regarding Smartmatic, E-respeto kay dili lalim ang na-experience sa teachers sa ilang mga daan nga VCM,” Marinas said.

Marinas shared that in past elections with Smartmatic in Cebu, machines often bogged down, failed to read ballots, overheated easily, and had slow transmission.

Recent developments have further cast doubt on Smartmatic, with a US Grand Jury indicting Smartmatic executives and former Comelec Chief Andres Bautista for bribery and money laundering. These actions allowed the poll service provider to obtain and retain their business, ultimately influencing the course of the 2016 elections, DTU further stressed.

These actions have raised serious questions about the integrity of Smartmatic as a poll service provider. “In light of these issues, DTU urges the government to ensure that all election systems are fully functional and secure,” DTU’s statement reads.

The union also calls for the removal of “Smartmatic as the nation’s poll service provider, ensuring that teachers can carry out their election duties effectively and securely.”

DTU also encourages all teachers, election workers, and the public “to remain vigilant as the sanctity of our democratic process depends on each of us.” — LPM (CEBU NEWS)